Los Angeles police hope they have finally cracked a 34-year-old cold case by arresting the man believed to have murdered prominent television director Barry Crane. The FBI Fugitive Task Force arrested Edwin Hiatt, who is living in North Carolina, on Thursday after he admitted to killing Crane at his North Hollywood home in July 1985, ABC7.com reported.

The director, who is responsible for producing several acclaimed shows such as "Mission: Impossible" and "The Incredible Hulk" in the 1970s and '80s, was found murdered on the garage floor of his home. His body was wrapped in bedding and his vehicle was stolen. It is believed that he had been beaten with a large ceramic statue and strangled with a telephone cord, USA Today noted.

The case went unsolved for years but a break came last year when police matched Hiatt to a fingerprint lifted from Crane's stolen vehicle that had been recovered shortly after his death. With Hiatt as a prime suspect, police then compared DNA recovered from cigarette butts found in the vehicle to DNA from a coffee cup that had been discarded in a parking lot where he worked at an auto repair shop. They had a match.

When interviewed by detectives in March 2019, Hiatt admitted to killing Crane, ABC7.com reported. The case was presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office and one count of murder was filed against Hiatt, who was arrested this week and now awaits extradition.

Speaking to media shortly after his arrest, Hiatt said he could not remember committing the crime because he was "big into drugs" at the time. He added that anything could have been possible back then.

"I just don't want to remember the past," he said, according to USA Today. "It's a different life today."

Los Angeles police have finally cracked a 34-year-old cold case by arresting the man believed to have murdered prominent television director Barry Crane. The FBI Fugitive Task Force arrested Edwin Hiatt, who is living in North Carolina, on Thursday after he admitted to...

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